Dispensing device



N0V 11, 1941- R. o. LILJA ETAL 2,262,293

DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 18, 1940 Reiner O. L-LVa Q ayrncmd C.Stephan and Walt@ :F: Ohme Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFIQE.

DISPENSING DEVICE tion of Minnesota Application March 18, 1940, SerialNo. 324,480

11 Claims. (Cl. 225-27) Our invention relates to dispensing devices andparticularly to devices for dispensing liquids such as milk and milkproducts and similar substances.

An object of the invention resides in providing i a dispensing device inwhich the liquid is agitated as the same is being dispensed.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a device in whichthe liquid is aerated during the ilow thereof.

An object of the invention resides in providing a valve for controllingthe flow of liquid from the container and in incorporating in the Valvean agitator.

Another object of the invention' resides in utilizing an electric motorfor operating the agitator and in mounting said motor on the valve.

A feature of the invention resides in constructing the dispensing devicewith a valve body having a vertically extending bore therein prefer?ably conical and haring upwardly.

An object of the invention resides in providing a spout at the lowermostportion of the bore providing a discharge outlet for the liquiddispensed.

Another object of the invention resides in providing an inlet at theuppermost portion of the valve body.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing acup-shaped valve member disposed i within the bore of the valve body andhaving a chamber therein.

A feature of the invention resides in constructing the valve member withpassageways for bringing the inlet into communication with the i chamberat the lowermost portion thereof and for bringing the uppermost portionof the chamber into communication with the discharge outlet.

Another object of the invention resides in ar-` ranging said passagewaysin such a manner that rotation of the valve member will close the inletand connect the lowermost portion of the chamber in the valve memberwith the discharge outlet so as to permit of draining the contents of`the chamber therefrom.

A feature of the invention resides in disposing the agitator within saidchamber at the lowermost portion thereof.

An object of the invention resides in providing ing upwardly therefromand providing a sleeve encircling said neck and to which the motor isattached.

A feature of the invention resides in detachably securing the motor tothe sleeve and the sleeve to the neck'and in utilizing the weight of themotor for holding the valve member seated within the bore of the valvebody. V

An object of the invention resides in attaching a handle to the sleeveand in providing a key between the sleeve and valve member, wherebyrotation of the valve member can be procured by swinging of the handle.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterillustrated and/or described.

In the drawing: l

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a dispensing device for liquidsillustrating an embodiment oi my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational sectional view of a portion of the structureshown in Fig. 1, viewed from a position at right angles to that fromwhich Fig. 1 is taken and drawn to a greater scale.

Fig. 3 is a plan sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a plan sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional View taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2

`showing the parts in altered position.

in its entirety by the reference character A and includes a valvestructure B. The valve structure B comprises a valve body Ii) having avalve member II therein formed with a chamber I2 in the same. In thischamber is provided one or more agitators I3 carried by an electricmotor I4 which is mounted on the valve member il. By means of thisconstruction the liquid passing through the valve A is agitated by theagitators I3 during the iiow thereof through the Valve. These variousparts will now be described in detail.

The valve body Iii is conical in form and is formed with afrusto-conical bore it which is situated vertically and which is open atthe top and bottom. To the lowermost portion of the valve body IIJ isattached a spout I1 which is also conical in form, being constructedwith a flaring wall I8 and with a tapered wall hl iollowingalong theouter surface 2| of the body I6. The Wall I9 is received within a recess22 in the lowermost portion of the Valve body I6, and is held in placeby means of two pins 23 attached to said valve body and disposed in therecess 22, which pins are adapted to enter bayonet slots 24 in the wallI9 of the spout I1. The spout I1 has a chamber 43 in the same whichcommunicates with a discharge outlet 25 from which the liquid dispensedis discharged. At the uppermost portion of the Valve body I6 is provideda boss 26 which has.a passageway 21 therein. This boss is threaded at 28to screw on to a pipe or tting 29 which may be connected to a reservoiror othersupply of the liquid to be dispensed. The passageway. 21terminates in a port 36 extending through the wall of the body I6 formedby the bore I6 and which forms an inlet for the valve structure B.

Within the bore I6 of the body I6 is disposed the valve member Il whichis cup-shaped in form and which has a frusto-conical surface 3| adaptedto closely t along the surface of the bore I6. This valve member has arelatively thick bottom 32 and a fairly thick circumferential wall 33which form the chamber I2 Within the same. Said valve member is open atthe top and is constructed with a neck 34 projecting up- Wardlytherefrom, andl which lies inwardly of the surface 3I of the wall 33 toform a shoulder 35 therebetween. In the bottom 32 of the valve member IIis drilled a hole 36 which provides a port 31 communicating with thechamber I2. A radially extending hole 38 communicates With the hole 36and extends through the surface 3l of the said valve member. This holecommunicates with a groove 39 extending along the surface 3I, whichgroove in one position of the valve member I I, is adapted tocommunicate with the port 36 of the passageway 21. It will be readilycomprehended that, when the valve member II is in the position shown inFig. 2, the liquid to be dispensed may iiow through the passageway 21along the groove 39 and through the holes 38 and 36 and into the chamberI 2.v The valve 'member I I is further constructed with ports or holes4I in the circumferential wall 33 thereof, which are situated at aboutthe same elevation as the port 36. These holes communicate With grooves43, which are formed in thewall 33 and extend through the surface 3I ofthe valve member Il. These grooves extend through the bottom 32 andbring the interior of the chamber I2 at a locality considerably abovethe bottom thereof in communication with the chamber 43 formed withinthe spout I1. When the parts are arranged, as shown in Fig. 2, theliquid entering the chamber I2 rises to the elevation of the ports 4Iand is discharged outwardly therefrom and along the grooves 42 into thechamber 43 and nozzle I1. The said liquid then. leaves the nozzlethrough the discharge outlet 25 thereof. It will thus be readilycomprehended that the various parts of the valve body and valve memberform a conduit through which the liquid flows from the receptacle to thedischarge spout I1, and that the flow of liquid is cut off at the port36. It is also to be noted that the chamber I2 constitutes anenlargement of a portion of said conduit.

f Encircling the neck 34 of the valve member II is a sleeve 44, thelower edge of which rests upon the shoulder 35 of said valve member.This sleeve has a keyway 45 therein which is adapted to engage a key 46secured to the valve member II. The key 46 is attached to said valvemember by means of a pin 41 and may be soldered or brazed to the saidvalve member. The key 46 also forms a limiting device for limiting therotation of the valve member II. For this purpose two stops 48 and 49are employed which consist of pins set into the upper portion of thevalve body I6. These pins are so situated that the valve member II, whenin its open position, as shown in Fig. 2, engages the pin 48 and when inits closed position, as shown in Fig. 6, engages the pin or stop 49.

The sleeve 44 has attached to it a mounting 5I which is secured theretoby means of rivets 52. This mounting is formed with a threaded boss 53adapted to receive the shank 54 of a handle 55. By means of thisconstruction the sleeve 44 may be rotated. Due to the key 46 and thekeyway 45, rotation of the sleeve 44 causes rotation of the valve memberII.

The motor I4 may be of the conventional type, being constructed with acore structure 56, which is clamped between end bells 51 and 58. Theseend bells journal the armature shaft 51 of the motor to which theagitators I3 are attached. The shaft 51 is of such length that theagitators I3 become positioned beneath the ports 3I and above the bottomof the valve member II Within the chamber I2 therein. These ag'itators,when the motor is operated, introduce air bubbles into the liquidpassing through the chamber I2 which give the liquid a foamy form whenleaving the ports 4I. To prevent rotation of the liquid and render theagitators I3 more ecient, two swirl breakers 58 are employed whichextend along the inner surface of the valve member and are disposedwithin the chamber I2.

The motor 51 is attached to the sleeve 44 by means of a flanged mounting59. This mounting has a tubular portion 6I which extends into theuppermost portion of the sleeve and a flange 62 attached to the end bell58. The tubular portion 6I has secured to it a stud 63 which is providedwith a nut 64. Nut 64 has a conical end v65 adapted to engage in aconical socket 66 in the upper portion of the sleeve 44. Aslot 61 in thesaid upper portion of the sleeve receives the stud 63 and permits ofinserting the tubular portion 6I into the said sleeve. When the nut 64is tightened the parts are held in locked Vposition.

The valve body I6 of valve B is constructed upon the inner surface ofthe bore I6 thereof with a groove 68, best shown in Figs. 6 and '1,which is disposed in circumferentially spaced relation to the port 29and which is situated at the lowermost portion of said valve body. Thisgroove is adapted to communicate with the hole 38 in the valve member IIand also with the chamber 43 within the spout I1, when the valve memberII is in closed position, as shown in Fig. '7. In such position the port36 is covered up and the hole 38 brought into communication with thegroove 68. This permits the liquid within the chamber I2 to drain out ofthe same and to be discharged through the spout I1 along with the liquidnormally passing through the ports 4I. In this way the device iscompletely .emptied of liquid.

The operation of the invention is as follows: Normally the valve memberII is in closed position as shown in Figs. 6 and '1, and no liquidpasses through the same. When the valve member is rotated by means .ofhandle 55 to the position shown in Fig. 2, liquid flows through thepassageway 21, the port 36, groove 39 and holes 38 and 36, and port 31into the chamber I2. Upon energization of the motor I4, the agitators I3are set into action which beats up the liquid within the chamber I2 andaerates the same. The liquid so acted upon passes outwardly through theports 4I and along the grooves 42 into the chamber 43 of spout I'I fromwhich the liquid is discharged through the discharge outlet 25. When thevalve is closed the residue of the liquid Within chamber I2 drains outthrough the holes 36 and 38and the grooves B8 into chamber 43 of spoutI'I from which the same is discharged out of the spout together with theliquid entering said chamber through ports 4I. When it becomes desirableto clean the device, the spout I1 may be removed by rotating the sameand disengaging the pins 23 from the bayonet slots 24. The valve memberII may next be raised out of the bore I6 of the valve body ID and thesleeve 44 disconnected therefrom and motor I4 removed from the sleeve.All of the parts which come in contact with the liquid are thus readilyaccessible and may be Washed and cleaned.

The advantages of our invention are manifest. Our improved dispenser maybe used for dispensing and aerating, stirring or mixing milk or milkproducts such as malted milk or may be used with any viscous liquidrequiring stirring, mixing or aeration. The device is extremely simpleand practical in construction. With our invention the liquid to bedispensed is agitated as it passes through the valve. Due to theconstruction and arrangement of parts our dispensing device is extremelysanitary and may readily be taken apart for the purpose of cleaning. Byconstructing the valve member with grooves, upon the exterior surfacethereof, the same is readily cleaned and all of the liquid adhering tothe same may be readily removed. Our invention may be constructed at anominal cost and may be used with any container or receptacle in which aliquid to be dispensed is contained.

Changes in the specic form of our invention, as herein disclosed, may bemade within the scope of what is claimed without departing from thespirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore therein and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, acup-shaped valve member disposed within said bore and formed with achamber within the same, said chamber being in communication with saidoutlet and inlet, said valve member upon rotation to one of itspositions closing said inlet, a support issuing upwardly from said valvemember, a motor carried by said support `and disposed exteriorly of saidvalve body, and an agitator operated by said motor and disposed withinsaid chamber.

2. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore therein and provided with a discharge outlet and inlet, acup-shaped valve member disposed within said bore and formed with achamber within the same, open at the top, said chamber being incommunication With said outlet and inlet, said valve member uponrotation to one of its positions closing said inlet, a tubular neckextending upwardly from said valve member, a motor carried by said neck,said motor having a shaft extending through said neck and into saidchamber through the open end thereof, and an agitator on said Shaftdisposed Within said chamber.

3. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalconical bore flaring upwardly and provided with a discharge outlet andan inlet, a cupeshaped conical valve member insertable into said borefrom above, said valve member having a chamber therein adapted tocommunicate with said inlet and said outlet, said valve member uponrotation to one of its positions closing said inlet, a motor carried bysaid valve member, the Weight of said motor holding said valve memberseated in said bore, and an agitator operated by said motor and disposedwithin said chamber.

4. In a dispensing -device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, a cup-shapedvalve member disposed within said bore, and formed with a chamber withinthe same communicating with said inlet and outlet, said valve memberupon rotation to one of its positions closing said inlet, a sleeveextending upwardly from said valve member, an electric motor, means onsaid electric motor adapted to engage said sleeve for supporting themotor on the valve member, means for detachably securing said means tosaid sleeve, a shaft operated by said motor and extending through saidsleeve and into said chamber, and an agitator carried by said shaft anddisposed in said chamber.

5. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, a cup-shapedvalve member disposed within said bore, and formed with a chamber withinthe same communicating with said inlet and outlet, said valve memberupon rotation to one of its positions closing said inlet, a sleeveextending upwardly from said valve member, a handle secured to saidsleeve for rotating the same and said valve member, a shaft extendingthrough said sleeve and into said chamber, an agitator carried by saidshaft and dispos-ed Within said chamber, and means for operating saidshaft.

6. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, a cup-shapedvalve member disposed within said bore, and formed with a chamber withinthe same communicating with said inlet and outlet, said valve memberupon rotation to one of its positions closing said inlet, a neckextending upwardly from said valve, a sleeve encircling said neck, a keyfor restraining movement between said valve member and sleeve, a handlesecured to said sleeve for rotating said valve member, a motor carriedby said sleeve and having a shaft extending through said sleeve, neckand into said chamber, and an agitator carried by said shaft anddisposed Within said chamber.

7. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore open at the top and bottom, a spout secured to the lower end ofsaid valve body and providing a discharge outlet, said valve body havinga valve inlet intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, acup-shaped valve member disposed within said bore and having a closedbottom, said valve member being formed with a chamber within the same,said valve member having a passageway therein for bringing said inletinto communication with the lowermost portion of said chamber, saidvalve member having another passageway therein for bringing the upperportion of said chamber into communication with said outlet, and anagitator within said chamber.

8. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having` a boretherein and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, a cup-shapedvalve member disposed within said bore and formed with a chamber, saidvalve member having a passageway communicating with said chamber at thelowe'rmost portion thereof and with said inlet and having anotherpassageway communicating with said chamber at a higher elevation andwith said outlet, said valve member upon rotation to one of itspositions closing said inlet, and an agitator within said chamber.

9. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a boretherein and provided with a discharge outlet and an inlet, a cup-shapedvalve member disposed within said bore and formed `with a chamber, saidvalve member having a passageway communicating with said chamber at thelowermost portion thereof and with said inlet and having anotherpassageway communicating with said chamber at a higher elevation andwith said outlet, said valve member upon rotation to one of itspositions closing said inlet, said valve body having a passagewayconnected with the rst named passageway of said valve member andcommunicating with the discharge outlet of said valve body when thevalve member is in said denoted position and agitating means within saidchamber.

10. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore and provided with a discharge outlet at the lower end and with aport extending through said bore near the upper end thereof and formingan inlet, a cup-shaped valve member disposed within said bore and`formed with a chamber within the same, said valve member having a portextending through the bottom thereof and a passageway communicatingtherewith and adapted to register with the port of said inlet, saidvalve member having another port near the upper portion thereof andsubstantially at the elevation of the port Aof the inlet, and apassageway communicating with said last named port and with said outlet,and an agitator within said chamber.

11. In a dispensing device for liquids, a valve body having a verticalbore and provided with a discharge outlet at the lower end and with aport extending through said bore near theupper end thereof and formingan inlet, a cup-shaped valve member disposed within said bore and formedwith a chamber within the same, said Vvalve member having a portextending through the bottom thereof and a passageway communicatingtherewith and adapted to register with the port of said inl-et, saidvalve member having another port near the upper portion thereof andsubstantially at the elevation of the port of the inlet, and apassageway communicating with said last named port and with said outlet,and an agitator within said chamber, said valve member upon rotation toone of its positions closing vthe port of said inlet and said valve bodyhaving another passageway communicating with said outlet and adapted tocommunicate with the first named passageway in said valve body when thevalve member is in closing position.

REINOR O. LILJA. RAYMOND C. STEPHAN. WALTER F. OHME.

